The Mat
by MandyLeigh87
Summary: Bella meets a mysterious and gorgeous Edward Cullen while doing her laundry late at night. They bond over their love of candy and a little old woman named Carmen. AH B/E 3 shot
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a fun little 3 shot with a fuckhot Drummerward and a Bella who loves classic rock. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

"Why are you so damn weird?" Rosalie yawned and started filing her nail again.

"I don't know why are you such a bitch?" I smiled and stuffed the last of my laundry into my bag.

"I'm not a bitch, I'm just always right." She set down her nail file and stood up. "But seriously Bells, why can't you do laundry during the day like regular people?" She glanced at the clock. It read ten minutes to midnight.

"I don't know it's kind of nice. There's never anyone there." I shook my head and started towards the door. "Don't wait up."

I put my headphones on and started down the stairs and out into the chilly Boston air. It was only a few blocks to the laundry mat. I started humming along to my music while the few bums on the street asked me for my spare change.

I hurried the last few paces to the front door of the laundry mat. I pushed on the door. It wouldn't budge. Again. Nothing.

"What the hell?" I whispered to myself.

I saw the owner sweeping up the floor so I tapped on the glass. He knew me by now. I'd come in every week at the same time since I'd moved here.

He smiled and sauntered over to the door, opening it a crack.

"What's going on Stan? Why are you closed?" I shivered a little in the cold.

"Sorry Bella. We're not making enough money to stay open 24 hours a day. We're going to close at eleven now."

"Well that just…sucks," I huffed.

"There's one a block that way," he pointed down the road, "and around the corner. They're open 24 hours a day. Try there."

I peered down the road and contemplated whether or not I wanted to go the extra block or not. I shrugged my shoulders and decided it wouldn't be too bad.

"Alright thanks Stan." I started back down the street, following his directions. As I turned the corner the laundry mat came into view, lit up and completely empty. Perfect.

I pushed the door open and looked around. There was an older woman seated at a desk towards the back, reading the latest issue of the National Inquirer.

"Hello," she called, not looking up from the magazine.

"Hi," I said softly. I started towards the washing machines. Nobody understood why I liked doing my laundry so late. I thought it was kind of theraputic in a way. There was seldom anyone else around, unlike the rest of my day. Boston was a wonderful place to live but there were people everywhere.

I started separating my lights from darks, my wools from the delicates, putting them into piles on the tops of a couple machines.

I heard the front door open again and I looked up.

"Hey Carmen." The man walked over to the old woman and placed a kiss on her forehead. "How's your week been?"

"It's been good honey. How about yours?"

"Not bad." The man glanced over my way. I averted my eyes down. "Who's the new girl?" He said a little softer, gesturing towards me. I pretended like I didn't hear him and kept sorting through my clothes.

"I don't know. She's never been in here before."

The man kept his eyes on me and slapped his hand gently down on her desk. "Alright." He started towards the washing machines, stopping at one a couple down from me. He dumped his entire bag of laundry on the floor and started sifting through. He picked up a few shirts, sniffed them and then put them back in his bag. The rest of his clothes were stuffed into the washer. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and dug for some change, recovering just enough to get the washer going.

"Just a small town girl…" He started singing loudly along to the radio, not caring that he wasn't alone. "Living in a lonely world…" His head started bobbing up and down to the music as he pulled himself up on the washer and started drumming idly on his knees.

I decided to steal a look at him. I turned my head slightly and blinked several times. He was gorgeous.

There was a mop of messy bronze hair sticking out from under his black beanie hat, which complemented his lightly bronzed skin. He wore an unzipped gray hoodie ontop of a vintage looking AC/DC concert shirt and a black leather jacket to top it off. But it wasn't his laid back vintage style, or his beautifully messy hair, or his sublte hint of a 5 o'clock shadow that stopped me dead in my tracks. It was his piercing green eyes. Fuck. Me. Sideways.

He must have noticed I was staring because he turned his head slightly towards me and smiled. "Hi."

I panicked and started frantically sorting my clothes again, knocking a few articles on the floor in the process. I closed my eyes and winced as my most hideous pair of Granny panties rolled right in front of him.

The older woman came by just then, collecting wrappers and trash from the floor. "Oh I have those in red. Aren't they just the most comfortable things ever?" She grinned and pointed to the underwear. The man and I both looked down at them.

"Yeah," I said under my breath. How embarrassing. I scooped them up quickly and threw them into the pile.

"Oh sweetie don't be embarrassed. It's just underwear. You know I don't get young girls these days. They wear those damn thongs and g-strings and call them underwear. Those right there are underwear!" She pointed back to my Granny panties.

"Oh come on Carmen, thongs aren't that bad." The man joked, warranting a weak slap on the shoulder and a laugh from Carmen.

I smiled and returned to my laundry. After I'd stuffed all of my clothes into the machine I ran to the convenience store next door to grab some candy and water.

When I got back the man was alone on his washing machine, with Carmen nowhere to be found.

I pulled myself up onto my washing machine, mimicking his position on his. He jumped down as his washer stopped and transferred his clothes to a dryer across the walkway. I started munching on my licorice.

We sat in silence for another few minutes, with nothing but the sound of the machines and the radio in the background.

"Can I bum one off you?" The man slid across the machines so he was sitting right next to me, his legs dangling over the edge.

"What?" I said, confused and stunned that he was talking to me.

He smiled and nodded to the huge bag of licorice that I was eating from.

"Oh yeah. Sure." I titled the bag his way and he took one out.

"Thanks." He started chewing on it and stealing glances in my direction. I was starting to feel self conscious. Did I have drool running down my face but was too dazzled by him to notice?

"I'm Edward." He held out his hand and laughed.

"Bella." I shook his hand and turned towards him.

"Nice to meet you." He nodded, flashing a brillant crooked smile.

When I noticed he was done with his candy I titled the bag his way once again without a word. He took a few more strands.

"So what-" He started.

"Edward!" Carmen called from down a dark hallway. "Can you come lift something for me dear, it's too heavy."

"Yeah be right there." He shrugged and hopped down, running down the hallway. He was gone for a long time and in the meantime his dryer had come to a stop.

I pulled out my tattered book, flipped it to a random page and started reading.

_He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself. _

I zoned out and started imaging Edward in Gatsby's place. It was like Fitzgerald was perfectly describing him. I had gotten so lost in the story that I didn't hear him come back.

"What are you reading?" He asked as he started emptying his clothes from the dryer.

"The Great Gatsby."

He chuckled and tilted his head up in thought. "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known." He quoted the book perfectly.

I smiled as he threw his laundry bag over his shoulder.

"Are you taking off Edward?" Carmen called, coming back into the main room.

"Yeah. Next week?"

"Same time, same place sweetheart."

He glanced back at me one more time and winked before walking out the door.

The beep of my dryer going off startled me back into reality. I sighed deeply and started gathering my stuff.

"He's such a nice boy…" Carmen said softly to herself.

I finished stuffing my clothes in my bag and walked up to the desk to throw away my trash.

"Does he come here every week?" I tried to sound casual enough.

"Every Thursday at about midnight."

"Oh. Okay." I started towards the door. "Thanks."

"See you next week honey…" She started idly folding clothes on her countertop.

A million thoughts started running through my head as I walked home. He definitely wasn't like any guy I'd met since I'd been here. He seemed funny and nice and smart. And plus he had on a classic rock band t-shirt so he had to have decent taste in music. I smiled a little inside knowing that I'd see him again next week.

My smile had spread to my face by the time I walked into my apartment.

"What the hell took you so long?" Rose said, completely irritated.

"I told you not to wait up."

"Eh. I was bored."

"You were bored sleeping?"

"Yeah its not the same when I don't have a masculine muscly hottie sleeping next to me."

"Rosalie how long has it been since you've been off the sex?"

"Two days."

"Sweetie if you're already having problems, it's going to be a long road." It wasn't that Rosalie was a skank per se. She was just thoroughly entertained by men and they were thoroughly entertained by her. It wasn't unusal for her to have a different guy here every night. We were polar opposites in every way, but we were miraculously best friends. It didn't make sense to anyone, especially us.

"So where were you secretive Sally? I know you weren't at Stan's. I walked down there when I got bored and it was as closed as your legs always are."

"I did go to Stan's…at first. But he said they were starting to close at eleven so he told me about a place a few blocks away. I went there instead."

"Was the place really that good with laundry?" She laughed a little.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've never seen someone so giddy and smiley after doing laundry."

"Oh I am not." I hadn't even realized the permanent smile that was plastered on my face. I looked down to avoid suspicion.

Rose started laughing even more. "Wait a minute I know that look." She jumped up and ran over to me. "Did you meet a guy?" She teased.

"No." I tried to wipe the grin off my face.

"You did too slut. Tell me all about it." She sat down on the couch and pulled me down with her.

"He was the only other one there doing his laundry. And he was…gorgeous. Kind of that nice bad boy look to him. And he's actually read a decent book. I mean he directly quoted The Great Gatsby back to me."

"Wow he speaks Bella. So did you ask him out? Kiss him? Screw him ontop of the washing machine?'

"No."

"Why not?"

"Well first of all he got an eyeload of my ugly gray underwear."

"Ew. Those ones big enough to be a national monument?"

"Yep."

"We need to get you some new lingerie sweetie."

"Yeah but Rose I don't wear lingerie."

"So. He doesn't have to know that." She shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "What's his name by the way?"

"Edward."

"Bella and Edward sitting in the mat. F-U-C-K-I-N-G…" She sang as she bounced into her room and closed the door. "Night skank!"

"Night bitch!" I called, wandering into my room. I could barely sleep. I already had butterflies in my stomach about next Thursday.


	2. Chapter 2

**Edward**

"Okay let's run it one more time then I have to go." I brushed the sweat away from my forehead and started twirling my drumsticks between my fingers.

"What's so important about doing your damn laundry? We have a gig next weekend you know." Jasper plucked a couple of strings on his guitar.

"He just wants to see that chick again," Emmett laughed.

"Oh right I forgot. Laundry mat girl." Jasper smiled and looked like he was about to join in on the teasing. I shouldn't have even told them about her. Strange as it seems they pretty much popped a boner at the prospect of me liking a girl. I didn't really date and I didn't really join in on the whole groupie scene of being in a band either. They both thought it was weird but it just wasn't me. I was in it for the music.

"Okay enough." I slammed my sticks together and counted down.

We ran through the song one more time. It wasn't like we needed it or anything; we knew it like the back of our hands. We were a cover band, mostly classic rock. Jasper and I have been working on a few original songs but they just weren't ready yet. And besides despite the whole stigma, I liked being a cover band. I grew up on this music. My Uncle Carlisle was obsessed with it and I guess it rubbed off on me. So did his clothing style and his suggestion of weed as an acceptable extracurricular activity. He always said it was better than any of that hardcore shit that a lot of musicians did. It came from the ground so he just called it the feel good vegetable.

After high school I moved out here with his son Emmett. We honestly didn't have much direction in life so we just bummed around for a while trying to get a band together. Turns out Jasper was looking for the same thing so we just ended up together. We bonded fairly quickly and got an apartment for the three of us. Jasper already had a practice space rented above the car shop where he works so we were set with that and new jobs. I was never so happy that Carlisle took us aside and taught us all that shit about cars when we were younger. I still had a lot to learn but it was easy to pick up and I caught up with the other guys quick enough.

As soon as the last note rang out on Emmett's bass I jumped up and grabbed my laundry bag, which I'd conveniently brought along with me. I didn't want to miss her. Hell I didn't even know if she was coming back this week but I was willing to take a chance. I barely talked to the girl and I was already excited to see her again. I'm a pussy.

"Peace!" I called, pushing the door open.

"And also with you." Emmett bowed and strummed another note.

I laughed and started down the dark street. We lived and practiced fairly close to the laundry mat so I didn't have to go far. I smiled as soon as I saw Bella standing at a washing machine, sorting through her clothes.

"Evening Carmen!" I called, offering a wave her way as I walked in.

"Hey honey! How was practice?"

"Good. You coming to our next show?"

"You know I don't go to those bars Edward."

"What are they too loud for you?"

"No I'm not supposed to. They say I get too rowdy when I mix alcohol with my meds."

If I were fifty years older I would marry this woman. She was like the cool grandma that didn't realize how badass she was. If I was ever having a bad day I'd just come in and talk to her. She always had a way of brightening my day. One time I actually got her to smoke with us.

I walked over to my washer and glanced at the brown haired beauty beside me.

"Hello Bella."

"Edward." She smiled. I noticed she'd already grabbed her licorice supply for the evening.

I went back to sorting my laundry, or I guess what could be considered sorting laundry. I honestly had no idea what I was doing even though I came here so often. I wasn't that guy. I didn't even know you were supposed to separate shit until two months ago and I still didn't do it. If I ran out of room or didn't have enough money, I did smell test. If it smelled alright, it lasted another week. If not, in the washer it goes.

I dug in my pockets for some change and started my washer. Bella was still sorting through her clothes and I didn't understand why girls were so fucking obsessive about clothes. By the looks of it she wasn't as bad as some of the other girls I knew, but they just had so much of it.

I pulled myself up on the washer and started drumming on my knees again. It was a habit; I couldn't help it. Plus drumming was one of the only musical talents that you could practice pretty much anywhere.

"What were you practicing?" Bella asked, handing me a licorice.

I took a few pieces and took a bite. "I'm in a band."

"Oh really? What do you play?"

"It's not obvious?" I took two of the licorice sticks and started playing some imaginary drums.

"Drums. Nice." She smiled and started on another pile of clothes.

"Well I play guitar too and I guess I sing, but in this band I play drums."

"What kind of music do you play?"

"Mostly classic rock." I didn't expect her to know much about it. I barely met a guy who had decent taste in music and most girls I knew only listened to Top 40. But I guess I should have realized that Bella wasn't like most girls.

"Like Journey classic rock, Bad Company, Steve Miller Band, Grand Funk Railroad?"

My jaw dropped to the ground. "You know classic rock?"

"Yeah I don't know why. While everyone else was listening to Britney Spears I was rocking out to Rolling Stones," she shrugged.

"Will you marry me?"

She laughed and shook her head as she dumped the last of her laundry on top of the washer. I almost choked on my licorice when I saw the lace contraption roll out. Definitely the opposite of the parachute panties I saw last week.

"Oh my God…" She whispered, quickly grabbing the lingerie and stuffing it back in her bag. "Dammit Rosalie." She shook her head.

"Who's Rosalie?"

"My roommate." She kept her eyes on her laundry and I had a feeling she was embarrassed. The flush on her face was like a Magic 8 ball screaming, "I'm fucking mortified right now and want to crawl into a dark hole."

"So did you grow up around here?" I chewed on my last piece of licorice.

"With my mom in the suburbs." She nodded.

"And your dad?"

"Um…" She shifted uncomfortably. "Never met him."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I guess if he didn't want me then he doesn't deserve a relationship with me."

"I guess that makes sense. Don't you ever miss him? I mean miss having a dad around?"

"Of course. But my mom would do anything for me so I guess I just have to focus on that." She loaded her things into her washer and hopped up to join me. "What about your parents?"

"Died when I was two. Car accident. I lived with my aunt and uncle growing up."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago."

My washer beeped and I transferred my clothes to the nearest dryer. The front door opened as I pulled myself back up onto the washer and a tall blonde stepped in.

"Rose what are you doing here?" Bella said.

"I was bored." The blonde's eyes shot in my direction. "Just wanted to see what you were up to. I'm Rosalie." She smiled and extended her hand to me.

"Edward. So you're the roommate?"

"I see Bella's been talking about me. All bad I hope."

"The worst," I joked.

"Rose you seemed to put some of your…items in my laundry." Bella tried to discreetly hand her the lingerie from earlier.

"Those aren't mine. Those are yours." Rosalie took a licorice and bit of a large piece.

"Rose they are not mine."

"They're yours now. Don't you like them? Let's get a man's opinion." Rose winked and turned towards me. "Edward do you like Bella's new lingerie?" She held up the lacy frock.

"Uh…" As soon as she said that all I could think about was Bella wearing that and I did all I could do not to excuse myself to rub one out in the bathroom. "Yeah. It's sexy," I stuttered.

"See? Edward thinks it's sexy. You're keeping it." Rose threw it back at Bella. "So Edward. What exactly do you do?"

"I work on cars. And I'm in a band."

"Is this one of those things where you say you're in a band to get laid or are you really in a band?"

"I'm really in a band. I play drums." I smiled.

"That's fucking awesome." Rosalie said.

"Most of the time."

"Are you playing anywhere soon?"

"Yeah we actually have a gig next weekend."

"Where at?"

"Bar down the street."

"Maybe we'll stop by."

"Rose," Bella scolded.

"What you don't want to come?" I kinked my eyebrow.

"No it's not that. I just don't want to force you to invite us." She shook her head and started hanging up some of her things. She transferred the rest of them to a dryer.

"Bella," I leaned in close and smirked. "I would really love for you to come see me play next weekend. Will you come?"

"Bella. He wants to know if you'll…come?" Rosalie laughed.

"We'll see," Bella whispered.

"So do you guys have a website or something so we can memorize all your stats like all the other groupies?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah." I pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down the address. "Although I'm not really into the groupies." I pushed it over to her and glanced at Bella.

"Pity."

"I've got friends though. Or I guess one friend that's not taken."

"What's his name?"

"Emmett. He plays bass guitar. Jasper's been seeing this girl Alice who works at the bar. She actually helped get us the gig."

"Rose I thought you were going to give the whole dating thing a rest," Bella said.

"Who said anything about dating him?" Rose winked and started towards the door. "See you next weekend Edward!"

"Bye Rose." I took one last licorice before my dryer timer went off. I started throwing my clothes into my bag and closed it up.

"So I'll see you next time?" Bella smiled.

"Uh…actually I won't be here next week. Practice for the gig." I shrugged. I tried to think of a smooth way to do this. I was never one to make the first move and I usually ended up fucking everything up anyway. "So I should probably get your number….just so I can…text you the gig info and everything…" I mumbled, diverting my eyes down to the floor.

"Oh. Okay. Sure."

I pulled out my phone and punched in her number as she rattled it off. I saved it under "Bella" and called it so she would have mine as well.

"If you have a missed call it's from me," I laughed.

"Okay. I'll see you soon then." She offered a slight wave as I threw my bag over my shoulder. I said a quick goodbye to Carmen and headed back to the apartment.

As soon as I walked in I knew they were smoking. I could smell the earthy scent wafting through the apartment and I wanted in.

I set my bag down in my room and followed my nose. Emmett's bedroom door was closed so I assumed they were in there. We barely ever did it in the common areas because we were paranoid about our landlord finding out.

I whipped the door open and Jasper started choking as Emmett screamed.

"Fuck you Edward. You almost gave me a heart attack!" Emmett grasped at his chest and tried to catch his breath.

"You'd think you'd be a little nicer to me considering I just found you a…date for the gig next week." I took the joint from Jasper and sat down.

"Who?"

"Bella and her roommate are coming." I took a long drag and held the smoke in.

"No shit. Is she hot?"

"Blonde. Nice rack. Tan." I grabbed my flask from my back pocket and took a sip.

"Edward are you fucking with me?"

"Not one bit." I took another drag and passed it to Emmett.

"Aw buddy. You're always looking out for me." He put the joint between his lips and jumped into my chair, rubbing his hands roughly through my hair. "What's her name?"

"Rosalie."

Emmett grabbed a cup from the table and held it up. "To Rosalie."

"And Alice," Jasper held up his cup and blew up a cloud of smoke.

"To Bella." I raised my flask and clinked it with their cups.


	3. Chapter 3

**Bella**

I didn't want to go. I mean I did want to go. I wanted to see him again. And I wanted to see him play, but I knew Rosalie was going to embarrass me. I loved my roommate but she was anything but subtle. The simple fact that she'd slipped that damn lingerie into my laundry bag was evidence of that. I was so embarrassed.

By the time I got home that night she was already investigating their website.

"Oh my God," she sighed, pointing to a picture. It showed some guy playing a bass guitar. I guess he was kind of cute, just not my type.

"That's Emmett," I said, remembering that Edward said he played bass.

"How do you know? This one plays guitar too." She pointed to another picture of a blonde guy strumming a guitar standing up to the microphone.

"Because you strum them different. The hand position is usually different." I pointed out their hands. I turned around and went to the kitchen so I could grab a bottle of water.

"I don't know I'm kind of partial to this one," she smirked, pointing to another picture.

I spit out my water when I saw she was looking at Edward's picture. He was sitting behind his drum set, slamming his sticks down on the drumhead. I'd thought he was gorgeous since the moment I met him, but this was a whole other level. He was fucking hot. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his perfectly defined muscles in his arms as he played or the sweat glistening across his face. Don't even get me started on the way he was biting down on his lip.

"Never mind, I think he's taken." She laughed and kept scrolling through the pictures.

"Rose you need to stop with that. We are not…" I shook my head.

"You will be. I could see the way he looked at you. He thinks you're hot shit."

"No he doesn't. Besides I don't think I'm the kind of girl a guy like that would go for."

"And what kind of girl is that?"

"I mean sure I like the music. But I'm not a hardcore rocker chick. I don't have any tattoos, no piercings, definitely don't sleep around. Isn't that what rock stars like that usually like?"

"Bella he likes you. I promise."

"I'm not holding my breath." I took another sip of my water and went to bed.

Laundry the next week wasn't the same without him there. I'd only known him for two weeks and I missed the easy conversation and the way he bit down on his licorice. I had way too many left over and it felt weird.

Edward texted me the information for the gig on Saturday and said he was excited to see me. Of course Rosalie teased me for it, but I didn't take it too seriously.

"He probably just missed my licorice."

"I bet he did," Rose said suggestively. She ran her towel through her damp hair one last time and started combing it out. I had to admit I was a little nervous about going tonight, but I hope it didn't show. I didn't need another reason to be mortified in front of him. I'd probably stumble over my feet like usual, but with my luck I'd pull the plug on their equipment or something.

I pulled on an old Boston concert t-shirt and tied it up to the side.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" Rose asked, taking in my appearance.

"I am dressed."

"Okay," she sighed. We never agreed on clothes. She liked all that girly shit and I was fairly laid back. It wasn't that I looked like a chump, but we were just different. I slipped on my sneakers and went to wait for her out in the living room.

"Oh I forgot to tell you I made us posters. Or I made them posters!" She stuck her head out of the bathroom and smiled.

"Rose I'm not holding up a stupid poster. The last time I did something like that I was ten and was at a Backstreet Boys concert."

"I'm bringing them anyway."

I waited another half hour while she did her hair and makeup before we took off, posters in hand. I didn't even bother looking at them. I wasn't going to hold it up anyway so there was no point.

There was a slight line to get in, but it wasn't too bad. We waited about ten minutes before we were ushered inside. It was more crowded inside, but we made our way to the middle of the pack a little off to the side. They had taken most of the tables out to make room for a mosh pit type of thing so it was mostly just an open space. There were a few tables smattered along the perimeter of the bar.

Rose and I went straight to the bar and got a drink. We hung around there while people started shuffling in. I kept peeking my head up, thinking maybe I would get a glimpse of him but I didn't.

About a half hour before the show was scheduled to start, I saw a few people step out onto the dark stage. I held my breath and ran my finger around the rim of my glass. One of the shadows walked to the mic and started speaking into it, testing the levels. Another started strumming on a bass guitar so I assumed that was Emmett. Another sat at a keyboard and I remembered from the website that there was another band member that played with them just for certain songs. I think his name was Jake. I may have looked at the website a few times in the last couple of days. The last shadow walked to the drum set, sat down and started testing the sound.

My body was buzzing. I was nervous. I was excited. I was fairly sure I was about to vomit before the night was over.

"Two shots please," I mumbled.

"Oh I love shots," Rosalie said. She clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Those are both for me, get your own." I downed the two shots and winced at the nasty taste.

"A little nervous are we?" She cocked her eyebrow.

"Just a little," I said sarcastically.

I almost curled up in the fetal position and hid in the corner. This was a bad idea.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" Someone asked into the microphone. The lights on the stage went up and I was temporarily blinded.

Rose immediately jumped up out of her seat and started yelling, like most of the other people in the bar.

"Holy shit…" I murmured. I spotted Edward right away, behind the lights and the other two. He had a black Journey concert t-shirt on and some faded jeans. I could tell they fit in all the right places even though he was sitting down. I saw his eyes scan the crowd, but he didn't see me. His expression fell for the slightest moment before he slammed his sticks together and the music started. I instantly recognized the song, but couldn't move.

I sat completely frozen for the entire first song, completely mesmerized watching him play. His arms. This man's arms were perfect. And don't even get me started on the way his foot taps to the beat or the way he grips his sticks with those delicious long fingers of his. I didn't think like this. I didn't have thoughts like this. My brain is on Rose autopilot and I'm headed for disaster.

"Bella get your ass up and cheer for your man!" Rose yelled. She jumped up and down and made eyes at Emmett even though I knew there was no way he could see us back here. By the second song she'd pulled me up from my seat and I was feeling a little better…or less inhibited I guess, from the alcohol.

We pushed our way towards the front. I stumbled over a few feet and looked back apologetically. It was a group of girls and they looked like first class bitches. One of them eyed me and flipped me off. I instinctively stuck out my tongue at her and then reeled it back in, completely mortified. She was going to kick my ass.

She made it pretty close to the front and the next thing I knew I was jumping up and down and enjoying the music. Rose held up her poster and handed me mine. I didn't bother looking at it, just threw my arms up in the air and jumped. I casually glanced up at hers and laughed _Nice bass. _My eyes flitted at the sign in my hands and I panicked. _Edward drop your sticks and bang me instead. _I'm going to kill her.

I gasped, my eyes shooting towards the stage praying that he didn't see it. His eyes were focused directly on me and a lazy smirk spread across his face. He laughed a little under his breath before he turned his attention back to his drums

I yanked the sign down and gave Rose a hard shove. "Do you understand what you've done?"

"Yeah. I just got you laid!" She screamed.

She didn't care that I was epically mortified or that Edward probably thinks I'm a groupie. She just shook her ass and eye-fucked the shit out of Emmett without a care in the world.

The song eventually came to an end and Jasper stepped back up to the microphone. "Hey everyone, we're Hollywood Rebel and I hope you enjoy the rest of the show. I'd like to hand over the reigns to our drummer Edward for the next song."

Edward pulled the microphone next to his drum set closer to his face and cleared his throat. "This song is by a band called Bad Company. It's 'Feel Like Makin Love' and I hope you like it." The first guitar notes rang out and the lights dimmed a little. "And Bella I like your sign…" He mumbled into the microphone. My breath hitched in my throat and he winked at me before starting to sing.

I bit down on my lip and let out a nervous laugh. Rose elbowed me lightly and said that I owed her.

I didn't feel as nervous for the rest of the concert. I mean in all seriousness, the most embarrassing thing of the night has probably already happened. I hope.

They played their last song and said their 'thank yous' before the stage darkened and the music stopped. I spotted them walking off stage and I felt torn. Should I stay or should I go? I instantly smiled to myself and started singing The Clash in my head. I didn't even realize that the bar was starting to clear out, leaving only a few stragglers and partiers in its wake. I guess that most people came for the show.

I was shaking my hips to the second verse that was playing in my head when I felt someone lightly touch my shoulder. I screamed and spun around, finding Edward's body close to mine.

"Hi," I squeaked.

"Hi." He rubbed his neck and I noticed his forehead was dripping with sweat. God he was hot. "I wasn't sure if you were going to show up." He took a sip of his drink just as someone bumped into him. It sloshed out of the cup and spilled all over my shirt. "Shit. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." I brushed at my shirt and tried to laugh it off. "And of course I came," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"So what did you think?"

"Solid song selection my friend." I smiled and turned my head towards the snicker from behind me. It was the group of girls from before and they were eyeing me like I was a gazelle in the African desert.

"Sorry about them. They're a little….possessive."

"Possessive?"

"If we had official groupies, they would be it." He nodded towards the girls. "They don't take kindly to newcomers."

"Why would you hang out with them if they're so evil?" I asked.

"I don't really. I just kind of hang back and watch the mayhem unfold." He laughed and nodded towards the bar. "Listen I'm going to go shower upstairs, but will you wait for me?"

"Sure."

He led me towards the bar and I spotted Rose and Emmett making out in the corner. Oddly I wasn't surprised.

"Hey Ali!" Edward yelled. A short, brunette girl skipped down to us from behind the bar and smiled. She was the epitome of a Rocker chick. Piercings, tattoos, seemingly badass attitude. Everything. "This is Bella. Bella this is Alice, Jasper's girlfriend. She lives above the bar so I'm going to go steal her shower. Ali get her whatever she wants, it's on me." He turned towards me. "I'll be right back."

I nodded and pulled myself up onto a barstool.

Alice poured me a drink and slid it into my hands. "You know he wants to fuck you right?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well he wants more than that, but I thought that was obvious. You're not like the others…"

"The others?"

"The other girls that throw themselves all over him. He never takes the bait but for some reason he's smitten with you. You must be pretty special." She smiled and headed down towards the other end of the bar to get someone a drink.

I sipped nervously on my drink as the bar emptied out even more. I didn't even realize how late it was. Edward was back ten minutes later and ushered me over to a booth with Emmett, Rose and Jasper. He introduced me to all of them and they started talking about the show. I noticed his hand strangely found its way to the seat, right next to my leg. He wasn't touching it, but it was about as close as he could get without it.

"Alright everyone, we're closing up!" Alice yelled. I was a little sad that the night was over so soon and that I wouldn't get to spend more time with him. I glanced towards the door and back at the group, who didn't move an inch.

"Not for us," Edward whispered, finally placing his hand lightly on my thigh. He kept it there even though he turned back to the group. I smiled a little to myself and leaned closer to him. Rose noticed and winked at me. Her hands were nowhere to be seen and I didn't even want to know what was going on under the table. I glanced over towards the stage and lingered on Edward's drum set as they talked.

"Do you want to play?" Edward asked.

"I don't know how." I turned back to him. The rest of the group was completely absorbed in their conversation and paid no attention to us. It was like we were in our own little world. Just me and him.

"I'll teach you." He smiled and looked at me expectantly. I hesitated before sliding out of the booth. He followed quickly after me and led me up onto the stage. Everyone else in the bar had left by then and Alice took our spot with the group since she'd finished closing up.

Edward flipped on a dim light above the stage so I could see. He offered me the seat behind the drums and grabbed his sticks. He leaned down beside me and pointed out what each drum was, hitting them lightly so I could hear the different sounds. When handed the sticks to me, he surprised me when he didn't let go. He placed my fingers loosely around the sticks and wrapped his fingers around mine.

He guided my hands across the drumheads, flexing my wrists back and forth to make the sticks smack down onto them. My breath hitched in my throat when he sat down behind me on the seat, his legs straddling either side of mine. We played the drums together for a few minutes before I noticed that our group was no longer at the booth. We were completely alone.

I felt his breath on my neck and shivered knowing that he was that close to me. He must have noticed because he turned his head towards me and stopped his hands.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

"Yes," I breathed. I turned my head slightly towards his and my cheek brushed against his skin. My eyes found his lips and traveled up to his nose. It flared briefly as he let out a huge breath. I continued up to his eyes and found myself lost in them. In that moment he reminded me of Gatsby again, seducing you into his very being with just one look.

He glanced down at my lips and a slight smile spread across his face as he slowly inched towards me. I held my breath a moment before his lips pressed against mine. His mouth moved in perfect sync with mine, nipping and sucking just enough to make my entire body melt. He moaned and lifted off the seat, spinning it and me along with it so I was facing him. He reached under my thighs and sat down again, pulling my legs over his.

He reached around to my ass and pulled my hips roughly against his. "You wanna get outta here?" He murmured.

"Yes." I nodded and started placing kisses along his neck. He pulled us up from the seat and I wrapped my legs tightly around his body so he couldn't escape.

I didn't remember leaving the bar, or the cab ride, or fumbling up the stairs to my apartment. All I remembered was his smell and his taste and the way his body felt pressed against mine.

The next thing I knew, Edward was shirtless and my bra was hanging from the doorknob of my bedroom.

"Bella," Edward mumbled. He pushed me down onto the bed and hooked his fingers around the belt loops of my jeans, tugging at them slightly.

"Stop teasing me." I shook my head and tried to catch my breath.

"Is this a tease?" He tugged again and smirked at me.

"Yes!" I protested.

He tugged harder and my jeans slid down to my knees, almost pulling my underwear down with it. I got mortified for a second time tonight when I realized I had boy shorts on. Definitely not sexy. He pulled my jeans down and off my legs before tossing them aside and collapsing on top of me.

"Can I make a confession?" He asked.

"Yes."

"I lied when I said that thongs were sexy. I think whatever you're wearing….is the sexiest thing I've ever seen." He ran his finger along the waistband of my underwear and slipped inside.

I screamed a little too loud as his fingers brushed against me. He slid roughly across me before pulling my underwear down in one swift move. I reached down for his pants and they quickly joined mine on the floor. I smiled as he placed his hands between us and I felt him…all of him against me.

I threw my head back against the mattress as he pushed inside of me.

"Fuck," he screamed. He settled his elbows beside my head and locked his eyes with mine. I wrapped my arms around his waist and scratched down his back as he moved inside me.

I've never been very…vocal during sex, but something was different. I was pretty sure I was about to break all the glass in the apartment. I just hoped Rose wasn't home yet. I was a little preoccupied when we came in and didn't think to look.

Edward ducked his head down and flicked his tongue across my breasts. As soon as he took my skin between his teeth I shuddered beneath him and crashed over the edge.

"Stay with me," he said. "Ride it out baby…"

It was almost like I was his new instrument. He was manipulating my body like I knew he could manipulate those drums or his guitar. He was plucking, fine tuning every note, every chord, and every aspect of me.

I was riding my second wave as he found his release, a strangled moan escaping his lips. He leaned down and kissed me, pushing his tongue between my lips.

He rolled over to his side and pulled me close. I fell asleep to his soft humming as his finger traced down my ribs and my hip.

I woke up the next morning, feeling off before I even opened my eyes. When I did, I realized why. He was gone. My bed was empty. His clothes were missing from my floor. I was alone.

I fought back the urge to vomit. I couldn't tell if it was from the panic or my impending hangover, but I barely made it to the bathroom in time. I'd somehow managed to drag the sheet with me so I wasn't completely exposed and puking at the same time.

A pair of hands pulled my hair back over my shoulder and I thought for the slightest moment that maybe he'd stayed.

"Rough night?" Rose asked.

"Rougher morning," I mumbled. I spit into the toilet and flushed.

"I don't know about that. It sounded like a pretty…rough…night."

She was here. She heard. I'll never hear the end of this.

"I'm going to throw up again." I hurled into the toilet again and felt a tear slip down my cheek. "He left…" I whispered. I rested my head on the seat and turned towards Rose. "I slept with him and he left. I should have known the nice guy routine was an act. He's just a typical rock star."

"Honey I think you should talk to him before you make any assumptions. Emmett had to rush out of here this morning for something."

"Emmett?"

"You're not the only one who fucked a rock star last night. I'll get you some water."

Once I was feeling a little better and the world stopped spinning, I took a walk to sort out all my thoughts. I found myself drifting towards the laundry mat and I wondered how he did it. How could he be so charming and sweet one second and be the guy who leaves before you even wake up? It didn't make sense.

I was surprised when I looked through the window. I saw Carmen at her usual spot at the desk. And him. He was there. Just going on with his business like nothing had happened. I guess he knew he couldn't come do his laundry at the same time anymore because I would be there. He had to find some new unsuspecting prey. "Asshole," I whispered.

I stomped through the door of the mat, scaring both him and Carmen.

"Bella?" Edward said. He reached inside the dryer and pulled something out. "I thought you'd sleep…longer. How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling? You fucking left me. I should have known. I should have known you'd do that. Just a typical musician right? Screw em and leave em." I crossed my arms.

"What the hell did you do honey?" Carmen asked Edward.

"You're right I did leave." He took a step towards me and narrowed his eyes. "Because I wanted…to wash your shirt for you." He held up the item he'd just pulled from the dryer and I instantly recognized it as my shirt. "I thought I'd make it back before you woke up."

I felt all the air fly out of my lungs with a whoosh. He was a nice guy. I was the bad guy right now. I felt like such a jerk.

"I…" I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I woke up and you were gone and I…"

"It's okay."

"No it's not. I'm really sorry."

"You might not be saying that after you get your shirt back. Was I supposed to dry this?" He held up my shirt again and now that I got a good look at it, it looked like it belonged to one of the seven dwarfs. He shrunk the shit out of it.

"Definitely not. I guess I'll have to teach you the ways." I took my shirt and smiled slightly. Edward rested his hands on my hips and pulled me closer.

"I'm sorry I shrunk your shirt."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Well I know how you can make it up to me later…" He leaned down and kissed me. Carmen started clapping and whistling, telling us how we'd have to have the wedding here at the mat. Edward laughed and grabbed my hand as we started towards the door. "See you on Thursday Carmen!" He pushed the door open. "Now let's see about getting you another shirt before I have to go to practice."

**A/N:**

**I hope you enjoyed this little short story. It is now complete. I had fun writing it and it was a nice release from my heavier fics. Just in case anyone was interested I've listed the set list for the boys' show below. Thanks again for reading : )**

**Separate Ways by Journey**

**Hold On Loosely by .38 Special**

**Feel Like Makin Love by Bad Company**

**Hotel California by the Eagles**

**Carry On My Wayward Song by Kansas**


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